Mermaid's Song
by slightlysickpsycho
Summary: After Cedric's death, Cho locks herself away in the prefect's bath. Fleur visits her, and they find solace in each other's arms.


A/N: I don't own Harry Potter.

Cho let the bubbles climb up around her shoulders as her cold, aching body sank into the deep water of the prefect's bath. She still couldn't believe Cedric was gone. The steam clouding the air felt good on her cheeks, still stiff with the salt of dried tears. Her eyes felt dry and rubbery. She had stopped crying simply because she was physically unable to continue; the pain had not eased even slightly. She pulled her knees to her chest, feeling tiny in the massive pool of warm, inviting water.

She wasn't sure how long she had been there; it could have been minutes, or maybe hours. She had been completely lost in her own thoughts until she heard the timid sound of dainty knuckles wrapping on the heavy door.

"Please go away." She moaned, praying whoever was outside would respect what she was going through and leave her in peace. She glanced through the stained glass window, wondering about the time. It looked like dawn was slowly creeping up on her, which meant she'd been occupying the bath for a very long time.

"Cho? May I come in?" Fleur's voice carried a surprising amount of pain.

"Fine." Cho didn't bother with any pretense of hospitality. The door unlocked, allowing Fleur entrance. The slender girl looked tiny in her fluffy white robe. Her face was pale and her puffy eyes were fierce blue from hours of crying. She looked like Cedric's death had pained her almost as much as it had pained Cho.

Fleur moved forward hesitantly, letting the door close behind her, and for the first time, Cho saw the large, gold egg held in dainty hands. Fleur followed her gaze and moved closer, offering the softly glowing object.

"Cedric," she said, voice trembling slightly with a pain that resonated in the pit of Cho's stomach, "he would have wanted you to have this."

Cho took it, holding it under the water and opening it. She sank down until the water lapped around her ears carrying with it snatches of the eerie mermaid's song. The tears came again, tears she didn't even know she had, bringing with them sobs that shook her body.

"Can I join you?"

Absently, Cho nodded.

"He really loved you, you know." Fleur breathed, almost too quiet to hear, letting the robe fall to the floor and sliding into the warm water. Cho looked up with interest, and Fleur smiled back through the tears that now streamed down her own face. "Never thought of anything, or anyone else. When he talked about you, and you weren't there, it was like... Well, like he was talking about a goddess, not some girl. His words made you so beautiful." She smiled sadly.

"You loved him too." It wasn't a question, and Fleur didn't deny it.

"You should know, he had eyes for no one else. Not even... Well, I never tried once the two of you were together, but a man who is not in love is rarely able to resist the Veela blood. He was the only one who ever said no to me." Fleur sounded a little sheepish.

Cho cried harder, falling into Fleur's arms. Silver blonde strands tangled with inky black in the moonlit water, almost all of the bubbles now gone. Fleur held Cho's head against her chest, and for a while, they cried together.

As the tears subsided, Cho tilted her face up to stare into Fleur's breathtaking sapphire eyes.

"Thank you." She whispered.

"For what?"

"For being here tonight. I don't know if I could have survived this alone."

"I need to be here as much as you need someone with you, maybe more."

They shared a tentative smile.

"You know," Fleur said, after a long silence, "the way he talked about you, it was enough to make me curious. I don't normally feel these sorts of things for girls, but you really are just as beautiful as he made you sound, even when in pain."

Cho's dark eyes shined and she moved closer in the dim pre-dawn light.

Lips met silky lips in kisses that were rough, tender, desperate, and loving all at once, the fire that ignited between the two girls burned brightly enough to consume some of the anguish, if only for a while. It felt like the first time they had been able to breathe after weeks of suffocation; Though it had only been hours since his death, pain had wrapped its gnarled claws around each moment, drawing time to a screeching halt.

Fleur's hands moved like butterflies, leaving tingling trails of desire down Cho's back, slipping so gently around her sides, and Cho gasped as those perfect palms pressed against her breasts, dainty fingers brushing across dampened skin. The gasp was stifled by another kiss. They moved slowly, tenderly, but fought for access to each other's bodies, leaving thousands of kisses and tiny nibbles.

And Cho's fingers travelled lower, finally plunging into the warmth between Fleur's legs, the silky bliss she hadn't known until this moment that she so desperately craved. And as the silvery blonde returned her touch, both girls felt a violent heat that eclipsed the agony of reality. They climaxed almost instantly, and simultaneously, bucking hard into each other's hands, crying out softly, tongues gliding against warm necks.

After, they did not speak. Cho allowed Fleur to guide her out of the water and wrap her in soft, fluffy towels. She spread more towels across the bathroom floor, where they curled up together, slowly drifting off to sleep.

And the last thing that registered as Cho's eyes fluttered closed was the golden yellow glow of dawn touching their bodies through the window.

Somehow, after the darkest night of her life, the sun was rising.


End file.
